=Johannesburg.=--This important city extends over an area of six miles, its parks alone occupying an area of 84 acres. Rural population in 1896 was 48,331, of which 38,868 were whites. District population, 102,078, of which 50,907 were whites. Johannesburg was declared a Municipality in 1896. Fine hotels, public buildings, churches, clubs, and theatres abound. There are 126 miles of road, and most of the streets are regularly laid out with several open squares at intervals. Cabs, trams, jim rickshaws, and omnibuses ply for hire; electric lights brighten the streets, while public-houses and low canteens innumerable, where the vilest and most poisonous liquor is sold, deface them. These, together with gambling hells, &c., contrive to make the place a sink of abomination equal to Chicago. The cost of living in Johannesburg is enormous. The board and lodging of a bachelor is estimated at about £8 per month. Clothing and food are said to be nearly 50 per cent. dearer than in Europe. Seven newspapers exist, two of which are published in Dutch. Johannesburg in 1886 was represented by some straggling shanties dotting the line of reef now forming the Wemmer and Ferreira Company's ground. When the existence of the reef, till then unknown, was discovered, steps were taken to secure a more convenient locality, and as a result the present township was laid out in the December of that year. The spot chosen was one of the bleakest and highest in the Transvaal, and land was of so small value for agricultural purposes, that farms were known to change hands for the price of a team of oxen. In 1895, however, two stands in Commissioner Street sold for £22,000, and in 1897, one in Pritchard Street fetched £40,000. The reefs that have brought about the transformation run east and west of the city, a distance of about 130 miles, and all around the country is dotted with battery houses, and other buildings connected with the working of the mines. Regarding the output, _see_ vol. i. p. 129. =Karoo.=--Hottentot name for a dry place, but now denoting certain districts. =Kharki.=--A dust-coloured material in wool or calico used for the uniforms of soldiers, in order to make them less distinguishable from a distance. Indian troops are always clothed in kharki. Of late, every article used on service has been painted or dyed the same colour, from guns, carriages, and scabbards, to horses, and the attire of the Naval Brigade. =Kilt.=--A dress worn by Highlanders, consisting of a loose petticoat, extending from waist to knees. It dates from the seventh century, when the kilt was made of skins. =Kit.=--A military term expressing the regimental necessaries of a soldier.